Absolutely Powerless
by mysticalweather
Summary: What happened to Janet during that year in Absolute Power? Written for danjanficathon over on LJ; spoilers for Absolute Power


Janet's moving in with Daniel had started out as merely an equitable arrangement that benefited the both of them. In Janet's case, the owners of the house she'd been renting had decided to move back to Colorado Springs. She and Cassie were given 2 months to find somewhere else to go. In Daniel's case, after being given the knowledge of the Goa'uld, he had been working hard to help the military develop a means of defending earth. He often worked long hours and he needed a hand when it came to caring for Shifu. It was a perfect fit. She had experience raising an alien child, and he provided a nice house where they all could live.

Only later did the mutual attraction and longing looks develop into a physical relationship between them. They were not your typical family by any stretch, but they were a family nonetheless. And they were happy.

For a while.

It happened so subtly. The changes in Daniel were almost imperceptible at first. But slowly he began isolating himself from everyone, even her. His bright, caring eyes grew icy and suspicious. His temper seemed to flare more and more frequently. The knowledge he had been given was changing him. He had always been a fairly stubborn man, but as time went on he became arrogant, uncaring, haughty. This was not the man she'd grown to love.

She tried telling herself he was just under a lot of pressure. The fate of the world, quite literally, rested upon his shoulders. But it was hard to excuse his recent behavior. He was suspicious of everyone. She couldn't even count the number of aides he'd fired or had followed due to "questionable loyalty". He had some sort of secret project underway in the basement, but the only thing he would tell her was that it was "classified" and the project would ensure their safety from any enemy they came across. Her instincts told her there was more to it than he was letting on, but she knew better than to ask. The last thing she needed was for him to question_her_ loyalty as well.

Security had already been tightened to the extreme. Cameras in almost every room, armed guards in every hallway...it was like the SGC had moved into a mansion. At work, she could deal with these elements. The SGC was earth's front line to a galactic conflict and heightened security was necessary. But at home? Let's just say that after getting up and going downstairs for an asprin and some water one night, she ended up being questioned by a guard for over an hour. It was the last time she ever left her bedroom after hours again.

Things had grown steadily worse, and Janet thanked God that Cassie was spending the summer in Chicago with some friends. At least she wasn't here to see what was becoming of the man they'd accepted into their family and had grown to depend on. Daniel was cold, distant, temperamental, and he never had time for anything but work. She loved him, she hated him, and for the first time in her life, she was afraid of him.

Her work at the SGC was a haven for her. The one place she could go and feel normal and pretend everything was fine. The one place she could speak freely without repercussion. She eventually confided her fears to the rest of SG-1 when Daniel's temper started turning violent. The latest in a long line of incidents had taken place in the dining room. Seconds after a plate of food was set in front of Daniel, a glass vase of flowers exploded on the wall next to the poor server who'd brought him cold eggs. Surprised and startled, the woman fell to the floor in a heap. A feeling of unshakable dread settled over Janet as she quickly checked the woman over for injuries and, finding none, escorted her out of the room. Janet had snuck a look over at Daniel as she walked the server out of the dining room, there wasn't a trace of remorse in his eyes. In fact, it looked almost as though he had _enjoyed_ terrifying that poor woman.

They hadn't eaten breakfast together since.

Her friends were at a loss as well. Teal'c didn't say anything during the whole conversation. But Colonel O'Neill and Sam admitted that they could tell something was up with Daniel. Still they were hesitant to think he would ever intentionally harm anyone. It was _Daniel_ after all. But ever the cynic, Jack had promised to "keep an eye out" in case Daniel did become dangerous. Jack's assurances made Janet feel a little bit better, but it also killed her to talk about Daniel like this. When had everything gone so wrong?

Later that day towards the end of her shift, she received a phone call from Teal'c asking her to drop by his quarters before she left the mountain. He had been meditating on their previous conversation and he summoned her because he was worried about the entire situation. Teal'c had seen much in his time as First Prime. He had had many dealings with countless Goa'ulds in the past, and as much as he hated to say it, it appeared that they were losing Daniel to the knowledge he possessed. And that's when it hit her, Daniel had become host to an nonexistent symbiote. The knowledge of the Goa'uld was so potent that it was changing the very fabric of Daniel's personality. He was becoming a Goa'uld. Janet was horrified at the prospect, but to be honest, not as surprised as she would have thought. The signs had been there for months.

It was the concern the jaffa showed for her that surprised Janet the most. For the first time in who knows how long, she found herself being drawn into strong comforting arms. She clung to him like a lifeline. Janet had always been a strong woman, but Daniel was her weakness, always had been. And for the life of her she didn't know how to get things back to the way they were. So she did the only things she could, she held on to Teal'c for dear life and cried.

Teal'c held her until her tears dried. Before she left his quarters he assured her that he would go visit Daniel and keep an eye on the situation.

It was the last time she saw him alive.

She tried - God how she tried - to explain it away. Brain aneurysms could be unpredictable, after all. And there was absolutely no physical proof of foul play. She went over the autopsy report again and again, but nothing was forthcoming. Still, she just _knew_ that Daniel had a hand in Teal'c's death. Shortly thereafter Daniel deemed Sam mentally unfit and pulled her from the AG3 project, and Jack had been made an outsider as well. Never in her life had Janet felt so alone.

She had to leave. Daniel had become a monster, and she needed to get herself and Shifu as far away from him as possible before someone else was hurt.

Easier said than done when you live in Fort Knox.

Her plan was simple enough. Colonel O'Neill would escort Cassie from Chicago to Cheyenne Mountain. Janet would tell Daniel it was time for Shifu to get a check up at the SGC. Jack had come up with a plan to get them off world without it looking overly suspicious. From what she could tell, he was going to activate the base's auto destruct. They'd be ushered off-world per evacuation procedures. Then they'd be free to gate to a friendly settlement among their allies somewhere without worrying about Daniel coming after them. Running was not usually Janet's style, but in this case she had no choice. It was either run and ensure the safety of the kids, or stay and run the risk that Daniel would hurt one of them in a fit of rage. It was just not a risk she was willing to take.

She had no choice but to leave, but she never should have underestimated Daniel's resources or paranoia.

"Going somewhere with Shifu?" he asked casually as she was putting the boy's coat on.

Her heart froze in her chest, but she tried to remain calm. "Yeah, we're just on our way to the SGC. Shifu needs his regular check-up."

"No."

"Daniel, he needs to..."

Daniel held up a hand to silence her. More alarming than the look on his face was the ribbon device strapped to his hand. She knew he'd been trying to develop a ribbon device that didn't need naquadah to work. Surely he hadn't succeeded...

"Shifu, go outside and play," Daniel told the boy.

Shifu looked up at Janet, as if asking permission. She nodded. He didn't need to be here to witness this. As soon as Shifu had left, Janet turned her attention back to Daniel. "What's going on? Why don't you want him to get his physical?"

Daniel gave her a smug look. "We both know that's not why you're going to the SGC, Janet. You're leaving me."

Her eyes widened in fear. How had he found out? Either way, lying would only dig her in deeper.

"Listen Daniel, you aren't yourself. You haven't been yourself in a long time. You're moody, you're violent..."

"You think I killed Teal'c," he accused.

"Didn't you?" she countered.

"He accused me of being a Goa'uld. I _hate_ the Goa'uld."

"So you killed him?"

"He was playing with fire."

She felt like she had been punched in the stomach. He wasn't even sorry for killing his friend. "I can't stay here anymore, Daniel."

"I won't let you leave me, Janet."

"Well, that's just too bad because I'm going," she said reaching for the door.

That's as far as she got before she suddenly found herself sprawled out on the floor of the foyer. "No, Daniel," she begged, watching the amber light of the ribbon device glow as he activated it.

"I love you, Janet," were the last words she ever heard.

_End _


End file.
